-LRB- CNN Student News -RRB- -- Students will make educated predictions about how many electoral votes each presidential candidate will capture in the 2008 U.S. presidential election .

Procedure

Have students review the origin , purpose and function of the Electoral College . Ask students : What is the `` winner take all '' system ? Are there any states that do not follow this system ? If so , how do they determine their electoral vote allocation ? How many electoral votes are needed to win the presidency ?

Next , divide students into small groups and assign each group a current swing state in the 2008 presidential race . Consult the CNN Electoral Map Calculator for a list of swing states . Then , refer groups to online resources , including CNN 's Election Center 2008 on the CNN Politics site , to identify the following for their assigned swing state :

After students complete their research , have each group analyze its data to determine which candidate it thinks will likely capture the swing state 's electoral votes . Have each group present its prediction and the rationale behind it .

Following the presentations , direct students to the CNN Electoral Map Calculator to log their predictions for all the U.S. states and calculate how many electoral votes they predict each presidential candidate will capture . Instruct students to create a chart and log their predictions for each U.S. state . After the election , compare students ' predictions to the actual electoral vote outcome . Wrap up the activity by discussing the role of the Electoral College in determining the outcome of a U.S. presidential election .

Correlated Standards

Civics

9-12 Content Standards

II . What are the Foundations of the American Political System ?

A . What is the American idea of constitutional government ?

B . What are the distinctive characteristics of American society ?

C . What is American political culture ?

D . What values and principles are basic to American constitutional democracy ?

III . How Does the Government Established by the Constitution Embody the Purposes , Values , and Principles of American Democracy ?

A . How are power and responsibility distributed , shared , and limited in the government established by the United States Constitution ?

B . How is the national government organized and what does it do ?

V . What are the Roles of the Citizen in American Democracy ?

A . What is citizenship ?

B . What are the rights of citizens ?

C . What are the responsibilities of citizens ?

D . What civic dispositions or traits of private and public character are important to the preservation and improvement of American constitutional democracy ?

E . How can citizens take part in civic life ?

The National Standards for Civics and Government -LRB- http://www.civiced.org/index.php?page=stds -RRB- are published by the Center for Civic Education -LRB- http://www.civiced.org/ -RRB- .

Social Studies

Standard X. Civic Ideals and Practices

Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of the ideals , principles , and practices of citizenship in a democratic republic .

The Curriculum Standards for Social Studies -LRB- http://www.socialstudies.org/standards/strands/ -RRB- are published by the National Council for Social Studies -LRB- http://www.socialstudies.org/ -RRB- .

Keywords

U.S. presidential election , candidates , popular vote , Electoral College , campaigning

@highlight

Students will predict electoral vote totals for each U.S. presidential candidate